As a non-gamer, this story has opened up my eyes...
I shouldn't be surprised that real money is being "invested, won, or lost" in online gaming. Short of cheat-codes or God-codes, if the physics in a game are definable and unalterable, I see a lot more games using bit-coin or whatever currency to make the play seem more real to the players.
Intadesting article. Thanks for posting it!